


Don't promise me ten seconds

by asarahworld



Series: Bigger on the Inside [18]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17582180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asarahworld/pseuds/asarahworld





	Don't promise me ten seconds

“’e’s dangerous, Rose.” Jackie Tyler held fast to her daughter’s wrist, not letting go. “People who travel with him, they disappear. And you’ve already missed a year. What if ‘e does that again, eh sweetheart? Or you come home and you’ve got some alien thing in your ‘ead, muckin’ about.”

“It’s fine, mum. That’s not going to happen.” Rose bit her lip, one hand held by her mother, the other resting against the blue panelling of the TARDIS.

“Or worse,” Jackie continued her tirade, unwavering. “You could get attacked by spores and end up pregnant with a half-alien baby. What would you do then? Live out your life on that planet, never coming ‘ome again.”

The TARDIS door creaked in the wind.

“Mum, I’ve got to go.” The wanderlust in Rose’s eyes had grown since she had left Earth the first time. She was too similar to her father for Jackie’s taste, full of adventure and an eagerness to do something, regardless of the cost. With Pete, it had been ill-timed inventions that never worked quite like he’d planned. But he, at least, had been at home.

Rose’s world was changing, and Jackie was left alone, again. As she hugged her daughter, Jackie thought of the man stealing her away. There was no doubt in her mind that he cared about Rose. And perhaps that was what frightened her most. With Mickey, he had loved Rose, but it had been puppy love. A couple of neighbourhood kids, trying out new roles in the world. And before that, Jimmy had been a manipulative wanker. Neither man had been good enough for her Rose. The Doctor might be. Not that she'd let him know. (Not yet).

Rose’s hold tightened momentarily before letting go. Jackie’s arms fell uselessly to her side.

“Don’t you go promising me ten seconds,” she said, in an attempt to be stern. It had the desired effect – Rose smiled slightly.

“I’ll see you soon, Mum.” Rose stepped through the door of the small, blue box, and Jackie watched as it faded away, wheezing like a dying thing, until it was if the box had never been there. She stared at the empty space, this time knowing that her daughter wasn’t dead, abandoned in a ditch in the middle of nowhere, this time knowing that her daughter would come home.


End file.
